geronimo2006 comments

U.S. says minerals deal will strengthen Trump in talks with Russia

No. It won't because Trump/Vance have been on the side of Russia and Trump/Whitkoff have given into almost every concession Putin has demanded while making empty threats. Unless this changes, and US imposes tough sanctions and resumes military support for Ukraine, I can't see any reason why Putin will shift his position. Putin only responds to real force. Trump on the other hand is too weak and easily manipulated to bring that force to bear. The US can talk up this deal but it won't matter to Putin. My guess is his next cards will include carrots such as an offer of a similar or better mineral deal, and perhaps an offer to discuss an extension to his 3-day ceasefire.

So utterly pathetically cringy. If it were in North Korea I could understand but the WhiteHouse??? The US is being run by an idiot who can’t even understand when something is photoshopped. What a fool. And he thinks things are going well, because that's what people around him tell him. Just like in a dictatorship. God help the USA.

US tried to force a deal onto Ukraine that was basically extortion. It was horrendously unfair and shameful of them. When that didn't work Trump agreed to this instead so he can blow his trumpet. He desperately needs something to show as he's tanking in the polls. The agreement now is nothing like what was proposed by US, and was only achieved through Ukraine standing up for itself. No sign of any real support coming from US while the Russians keep murdering Ukranians. The torture and murder of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna is a real shocker. No wonder Macron didn't want to shake hands with Trump.

Seem to remember China making a few others kowtow when they had the power. China is not benevolent, and has bullied others in the region through trade and force recently. Playing the victim card to its advantage.

Six days in a row of DT being quiet on tariffs since he said he would be easy on China and blew his credibility. Markets are taking this as a realization that DT is pretty much BS, is useless at negotiating and can be mostly ignored. Even Japan hasn't agreed to a deal yet, but according to DT 200 deals already done. The lower his credibility and ratings go the further markets will recover.

Putin plays his latest card to placate Trump to his own advantage. Then after 3 days he'll unleash even more missiles on Ukranian cities. Don't fall for it. Trump should respond by putting more sanctions on Russia and force him to agree to a permanent ceasefire. Lower oil prices are really hurting him so now would be good.

Once the US walks away, which I think is probably inevitable under Trump, there is nothing stopping Russia from massively escalating. Russia is failing to take ground on the battlefield, and with the US out of the picture, Putin could use a nuclear weapon to get everything they want. Putin would say he had no choice and Trump would say it would've never happened if Ukraine had agreed to his (surrender) plan in the first place.

Please stop or we'll walk away - what an utterly pathetic response. So weak. The Russians must be laughing and rubbing their hands together and Putin will be thinking right - who's next.

Trump is a puppet. He has put zero pressure on Russia while offering Russia everything it wants and has repeatedly undermined Western support for Ukraine. He has literally repeated Russian propaganda talking points while berating Zelenskyy and NATO. He never criticizes Putin or Russia, and even today at best comes up with a 'maybe' Putin doesn't want peace - duh. Tomorrow he'll no doubt get his dose of Russian propaganda from those MAGA followers around him, and go back to blaming Ukraine. He is Putin's wet dream, and Russia's state media hails him as a massive asset. That's what he is, and although I'd like to believe he could somehow change and suddenly put massive pressure on Russia I just can't see that happening. More likely tomorrow Putin will masterfully play his next card and be rewarded.

Wouldn't read too much into this impromptu meeting because Trump may not even remember it tomorrow. Or maybe he will think he talked to Xi. The sad reality for Ukraine is Trump and his amatuerish negotiator are a mockery while at the same time being manipulated by Putin, and I think they soon try to give Russia not only Crimea but also sanctions relief. Ukraine can and should try to resist, but I think it will only be in vain. Trump is a very useful idiot, and Putin must be laughing his head off.

Trump couldn't care less about Russia's illegal invasion, war crimes and people being killed by Russian missile attacks. He has no morals. He just cares about a quick peace and mineral deal so he can blow his own trumpet, and the quickest path to that is to give Putin everything he wants. What concessions will Russia have to make - none. Ukraine understands the US is no longer on their side and will no longer support them. Ukraine might be willing to tell the US to stuff off, but the problem is how far is Trump going to side with Russia. Ukraine might accept Russia's de-facto control of Crimea, but not annexation. If negotiations fail over Crimea, Trump will blame Ukraine and then side with Russia, which is what he wants to do all along because he likes Putin/Russia for some reason.

Putin knows Trump is not willing to support Ukraine, and Russia will, over time, be able to take everything they demand from Ukraine. They know Trump is weak and will not stand up to Russia. They know he, and those around him , are compromised and Trump's plea to stop can be ignored. When Trump says Stop! - or else what? - nothing. China will be looking on with great interest.

DT backtracked so fast he's lost all credibility. Not even a single deal signed yet. Pretty lame. Basically he got his ass handed to him by Xi/markets and had to do a massive U-turn.

No need. DT just blinked. Just said the US will be very nice to China and tariffs will be much lower. Seems he finally got the message that tariffs would cause to much economic harm and the political fallout too great.

I think Russia must be at the end of its offensive capability. Basically, they can't take any more land which is why they are now willing to negotiate a ceasefire. I thought they might try to go for one more push in summer but it seems they don't have the equipment and are getting hammered by Ukranian drones. Russian losses are appallingly high and European resolve remains strong which might finally be pressuring Putin into talks.

A falling dollar by itself is not a big issue although it will push up US inflation. But a falling dollar together with a falling stock market and rising long term interest rates all at the same time is a very big issue because it means overseas investors have lost faith in the country's future and are pulling out. They are selling their dollars and putting them in other assets such as gold as the US is no longer seen as safe. If this selling accelerates it will cause a financial crisis.

If Trump does impose high tariffs, which is uncertain, there will be an inflationary shock. This is why the Fed will not lower rates until the outlook is clear. Nobody can be sure but it seems other countries, like Japan will not simply give in and negotiations will be lengthy. Regardless, threatening the independence of the Fed will undermine confidence in the dollar and the markets. It's just plain stupid. The US is now paying the Trump premium (higher interest rates) as a result of his economic mismanagement and incompetence.

It's a ploy. The ceasefire will serve Russia interests because first they can safely reinforce their frontline troops with supplies and fresh reserves which is something they have been having massive problems with because of Ukranian drones and long-range weapons. They can also play Trump along thereby weakening Ukraine as they know the US under Trump will not give Ukraine fresh military aid and he will give more of his bargaining chips away in the hope of getting his ceasefire. So Putin is playing the long game. You will see him redouble his attacks as soon as the ceasefire is over. Putin is not being kindhearted. This is just his strategy to achieving his maximalist goals, and I think Trump will fall for it because he wants the spotlight so bad. Watch Trump get played. He will give away even more for a 30-day ceasefire the Ukranians have already agreed to.

It seems very strange to me that Trump never criticizes Putin/Russia, and during negotiations was more than happy to give carrots to Russsia while only using sticks on Ukraine. Why is it that Trump would rather give up than put any pressure at all on Russia to come to the table? He didn't even put 10% tariffs on them for no real reason. I think Putin must have some real dirt on Trump(corruption, sex videos etc.), probably from his early days when he visited Russia, and Trump does not want that to come out.

Negotiations went nowhere for the very obvious reason that Trump is a complete fool who thought by giving Russia carrots and sending a novice pro-Russian negotiator to Moscow he could somehow bring about peace. What an idiot. He still can't bring himself to criticize Putin, who must be laughing his head off. With the Russian economy and army weakened, it would have been fairly easy for US to apply enough pressure on Russia to bring it to the table, but Trump just couldn’t bring himself to do it. So rather than that, he going to quit, which is what losers do.

Japan should be very suspicious of being used by theＵS under Trump who are asking Japan to follow US policy while at the same time placing tariffs on Japan and asking them to pay more. In Europe Trump has attacked his allies, given Russia a free pass and is now saying he will simply give up on Ukraine rather than take the hard road of standing up to Russia. Japan should view the US as unreliable because nobody in their right mind should trust Trump who openly praises dictators, threatens allies and countries with annexation and tries to extort resources for protection. Make your own policy Japan.

The US should seize some Russian assets, but under Trump they know they won't which is precisely why they are doing this kind of thing. Putin knows Trump is his puppet and won't give any more support to Ukraine, and will put zero pressure on Russia.

Now might be a good time for Japan to sell some of the mountain of US debt it holds. Then watch the orange thing do the flip-flop. Like the UK, the US will want to keep Japan onside and will negotiate accordingly. The last thing Trump can afford is Japan and others joining China's response.

Trump's idiotic half-baked flip-flop tariff policy is leading to lower share prices, higher inflation, higher interest rates, lower consumer confidence and weaker investor sentiment putting the US into a recession. But that's not the worst of it. If investors loose faith in the dollar it could be catastrophic. That's why he was afraid of the markets getting 'yippy'. Congress needs to reign him in.

they need a little bit of time 

Wrong. Companies need years to plan and build factories, which they probably won't do because he flip-flops all the time. Too much uncertainty. Meanwhile, people around him, like MTG, are making a killing and will continue to as long as they remain loyal. The art of corruption.

Complete farce.

Trump is finding out he can't just order around countries such as Russia and China. He needs a real plan. So far I can't see one.

Were going to buy French ones but backed out over cost. Now they have to buy ones made in USA which will probably end up being even more expensive just to keep Trump happy. All this while Australia got slapped with 10% even though US consistently runs a trade surplus with Australia unlike most other countries. Nice ally. Maybe China's offer of joining hands is not so far out. They are Australias biggest trade partner, and then they would need to buy subs.

If Trump put serious pressure on Russia by stopping their oil exports suddenly Russia would be at the table ready for a ceasefire. Don't know if he is prepared to do that as he likes pander to Putin. He'd also have to put secondary sanctions on other countries. But now is the opportune time with the price oil falling.

“THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH.”

Sure will be - for him and his band of cronies.